with 8-matches (Round 2 - Round 9). Brisbane Broncos round-26 match was the biggest ever regular home game crowd for the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium with 50,859. South Sydney Rabbitohs winger Nathan Merritt equaled the club record for the most tries in a match with 5-tries against the Parramatta Eels in Round 22. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles set the record for the most points scored in a half of finals football when they scored 42 unanswered points against the North Queensland Cowboys. Sea Eagles halves Kieran Foran (21) and Daly Cherry-Evans (22) became the youngest halves pairing to win a grand final since Brett Kenny (20) and Peter Sterling (21) in 1981 Teams The number of teams in the NRL remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive season, with sixteen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Of the ten from New South Wales, eight are from Sydney's metropolitan area, with St. George-Illawarra being a Sydney and Wollongong joint venture. Just two foundation clubs from New South Wales Rugby League season 1908 played in the competition: the Sydney Roosters (formerly known as Eastern Suburbs) and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Regular season Bold – Home game X – Bye * – Golden point game Opponent for round listed above margin Ladder Finals series To decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams, the NRL adopts the McIntyre final eight system. The 2011 finals series sees the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors all return from last year. The Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos both return after last year's absence whilst the North Queensland Cowboys and the Newcastle Knights appear in this year's finals for the first time since 2007 and 2009, respectively. † - Match decided in golden point extra time Finals chart Grand Final Club and player records The following statistics are correct as of the conclusion of Round 26. Top 5-point scorers Top 5 try scorers Top 5 goal scorers Most points in a match by an individual Most tries in a match by an individual Paul Gallen ran 3,670 metres with the ball in 2011, more than any other player in the competition. Attendances The regular season attendances for the 2011 season aggregated to a total of 3,123,055 (average